Friday, November 30, 2012

November Reading in Review


Can you believe that November is over and (1) month is left of 2012.  I'm grateful that we have an extra week after Thanksgiving this year to prepare for Christmas - I think most most us need that.  We've been lucky with the temperatures around her this far, no below freezing weather yet except at night on occasion, and this weekend it is going to be in the 50's unbelievable for New England in December.

I read (10) books in November and (128) in 2012. (4) November books were kids books, for a total of (33) kids books in 2012.

Here is what my reading life looked like for November:
  1. The Cure for Grief; Nellie Hermann - 4/5 (personal copy)
  2. Live By Night; Dennis LeHane - 4.5/5 (audio and eGalley)
  3. Flight Behavior; Barbara Kingsolver 4.5/5 (eGalley)
  4. Joy for Beginners; Eric Bauermeister - 4.5/5 (audio-library) 
  5. If You Spent a Day With Thoreau at Walden Pond; Burleigh and Minor - 5/5 (personal copy)
  6. Fancy Nancy, There's No Day Like a Snow Day; Jane O'Connor and Glasser - 4/5 (library)
  7. The Christmas Quiet Book; Deborah Underwood and Liwska - 4.5/5 (library)
  8. Sally Sore Loser: A Story About Winning and Losing; Sileo and Pillo - 5/5 (library)
  9. A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories; Flannery O'Connor - 4.5/5 (personal copy)
  10. Shadow Tag; Louise Erdrich - 4/5 (audio-library) - no review yet) 
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Back in October, I posted my Nov and December reading plans, and for the first time in a long time, I seem to be sticking to my plans for the most part. Here's how I've progressed:

 November and December Plans - (to date - 5/10)

  1. The Cure for Grief; Nellie Hermann - 4/5 stars (personal copy)
  2. Live By Night; Dennis LeHane- 4.5/5 stars (audio and eBook)
  3. The Panther; Nelson DeMille (current audio-library)
  4. The Secret Keeper; Kate Morton
  5. The Christmas Quiet Book; Underwood - 4.5/5 (library)
  6. Fancy Nancy, There's No Day Like a Snow Day; O'Connor-4/5 stars (library)
  7. The Light Between Oceans; ML Stedman
  8. Cascade ; O'Hara (current eBook)
  9. Flight Behavior; Barbara Kingsolver - 4.5/5 stars (eGalley)
  10. Cold Light; Jen Ashworth
I still have a couple of more Holiday books I want to add to this mix in December.


How did your month go?

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories; Flannery O'Connor



Author:  Flannery O'Connor
Publication Year: 1977 (reprint) 1955 (originally)
Publisher: Harcourt
Edition: Trade
Setting: Southern US states
Source: personal collection
Date Completed: November/2012
Rating: 4.5/5 
Recommend: yes
 
From a reader who isn't a huge fan of short stories, I must say that Flannery O'Conner's, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories is a wonderful collection that I really enjoyed a lot.  O'Connor was an incredibly talented Southern writer whose life ended much too early. She died in 1964 at the age of 39 of Lupus.  

In this collection, each story for the most part takes place in the 1940s and 50s, and although the reader is not always sure of the locale, it seems clear that most stories seem to have a rural south setting, as she is know for her Southern Gothic fiction. Most of her stories are dark, often tragic, but there always seems to be humor infused, and each story has at least one broken or quirky characters that makes the story memorable. Some stories have religious undertones or characters struggling with faith in times of crisis.
 
The title story (my favorite) featured a grandmother, who sees herself as a prim and proper lady. She's also an opinionated chatterbox who tells her family (and others) which she thinks about everything, but that doesn't mean she's a clear thinker and is able to always make good decisions.  In this story, her son wants to take the family to Florida on vacation, but the grandmother urges them to consider Tennessee instead, as an escaped convict labeled "The Misfit" has escaped from prison and is one the loose, and according to the grandmothers criminals tend to head to Florida.  Her son does not take her advice and the family (grandmother included) set out for a road trip to Florida -- a road trip that is a riot to read about, but one that ends badly.
 
The River, was another story that was tragic, yet so well done -  a five year old boy, with irresponsible partying parents, who is often left alone. He is a bit too trusting for his own good.
 
Good Country People was another one I enjoyed - what happens when a lonely lady with a fake leg is visited by a conniving, traveling Bible salesman? Let your imagination run wild, or better yet, read it for yourself and enjoy this wild ride.
 
Most of the stories range from 20-30 pages, and honestly, if you've been like me and avoided short story collections far too long, this would be an excellent book to start with to make you ease back in an see what you've been missing.  Other stories in this collection in addition to the (3) I mentioned are: The Life You Save May Be Your Own, (another favorite)  A Stroke of Good Fortune, (another favorite) A Temple of the Holy Ghost, The Artificial Nigger, A Circle in the Fire, A Late Encounter with the Enemy and The Displaced Person (another favorite).
 
I definitely plan to read more of Flannery O'Connor's work in 2013. 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Sally Sore Loser: A Story About Winning and Losing; Frank J. Sileo (author) and Cary Pillo (illustrator)

  Frank Sileo (Author) and Cary Pillo (illustrator)
Magination Press - 2012
American Psychological Association

Sally likes to play soccer, but Sally does not like to lose.  When things don't go well, she yells and bosses other children, and before long Sally finds herself all alone and friendless.  

Mr. Taylor, one of her teachers, tries to instill the importance of "Being a Good Sport" by sharing (8) simple principles:
  1. Being polite to teammates and opposite team
  2. Cool down when upset
  3. Don't show off or hog the ball
  4. Don't argue with a teacher, teammate, opponent or referee
  5. Know the rules of the game.
  6. Be fair to everyone
  7. Never cheat
  8. Try your best and have fun
This a very important book for children under the ages of 8 or 9. It provides parents, coaches etc. with an excellent tool to teach youngsters the importance of being a good sport and, how to be both a good winner and a good loser.  The illustrations are well done and fun to look at, and very well done. Great talking points for parents and child. 
 
- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

A few important quotes: 
  • "Remember to tell yourself, I've won if I've had fun."
  • "Sore winners and bad losers win nothing and can lose friends."

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

(2) new cute kids books for 2012/13 Winter Christmas Season

Deborah Underwood (author)
Renata Liwska (illustrator)

Houghton Mifflin Childrens - 2012

In The Christmas Quiet Book, readers will enjoy pages and pages of quiet moments leading up to the Christmas holiday. Adorable animals like bear cubs and bunnies are shown trimming the tree, enjoying the twinkling lights, watching The Nutcracker, making gingerbread houses taking quiet walks and even taking part in a Christmas play.
 
Each scene is briefly described with just a few words to describe the "quiet" activity.The simple text describes each type of quiet in only a few words, but honestly is it the gorgeous illustrations that won my heart with this special book. Each illustration seems lovelier than the one before, echoing the simple beauty of nature and peace.

A perfect month of December reading choice to enjoy with a hot cup of cocoa, cuddled in front of the fire. ENJOY it with your special little one. Check out this adorable video on Amazon.

4.5/5 stars

Jane O'Connor - (author)
Robin Preiss-Glasser - (illustrator)

Harper Festival Books - 2012

In Fancy Nancy, There's No Day Like a Snow Day, Nancy is all excited when she wakes up and finds out that school has been canceled because of blizzard, even if mom and dad still have to go to work, while Mrs. Devine comes over to baby sit.

Nancy, Bree and her friends can even make a snow day "fancy", as they build snowmen, make snow angels and more.  More fun follows when dad and mom return from work (boy I wish I had parents like Nancys).

Anyone who is familiar with the "Fancy Nancy" books knows that part of the charm of this series is that Nancy likes to use "fancy words" and explains their meaning as well.  In this, her newest book, young readers will learn the meanings of some "fancy" words like: blizzard, century, frolic, phenomenal; mistaken, regal, twilight, and supersonic speed.

A very fun edition to the Fancy Nancy series.

4/5 stars

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros


Every Tuesday, I'll be posting the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book I decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). Feel free to grab the banner and play along. For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro to a book by a new to me author. Has anyone read this one?

 Cascade; Maryanne O'Hara
2012 - Viking

December 1934

AND SOMETHING BECOMES SOMETHING ELSE

"During his final days, William Hart was haunted by drowning dreams.  Every day at the sound of his shouts,  Dez came awake herself, always briefly startled to find a husband --Asa --sleeping beside her.  She would dash across the hall, fearing another heart attack, but then her father would be lying quietly, gazing at the plaster ceiling.  Probably half the town was having drowning dreams, she'd say, reminding him that the reservoir was an old rumor and ticking off good reasons why it would never happen. The state had looked to --Cascade before.  If it was too expensive to build six years ago, then surely, in these hard times, nothing would come of it."

Would you read on?
Please feel free to grab the logo and join in by posting the first paragraph (or 2) of a book you are reading now or hoping to read soon.
 
 

Monday, November 26, 2012

Mailbox Monday - November 26th


Mailbox Monday in November is hosted by Kathy-Bermudaonion.

This week's arrived by mail loot included (3) audio books and (1) print book:

Saturday, November 24, 2012

If You Spent a Day With Thoreau at Walden Pond; Robert Burleigh - author and Wendell Minor - illustrator


Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor (illustrator)
Henry Holt & Co. - Christy Ottaviano Books 2012

Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to living simply and exploring nature, and in 1845 he built a simple cabin in the woods in Concord, Massachusetts so he could study and enjoy the beauty of nature around him.

In this beautiful book, the author and illustrator collaborate about what spending a day at that cabin in the woods with Thoreau might have been like for a young child.  Through gorgeous illustrations, and a story about nature, children and adults alike should enjoy this book, and be able to engage in meaningful conversation afterward.

The reader witnesses a young boy arriving early at the cabin on the shore of a gorgeous pond. Once inside we see how, for at least this man, (1) bed, (1) table and (3) chairs and a kerosene lamp, was all that was needed to be content living alone in the woods with nature, contending "living a simple life is the best way to be happy." Thoreau and the young boy spend their day, going out on the boat and studying the fish in the clear water of the pond. They listen to the different birds and even see a hawk, as well as other critters as they walk in the woods, pick huckleberries and just enjoying nature.  When day is done the young boy waves goodbye and Thoreau writes in his journal about all the two had experienced together.

If reader allows their imagination travel back to the time when Thoreau inhabited a similar simple cabin, a message about living simply and enjoying the beauty around us will make for good parent/child conversation.  A great message for young children today who often spend too much time indoors, in front of a television or video games.



What makes this lovely story all the more special is the beautiful illustrations; I especially loved the map of the pond on the end boards.  I've had the pleasure of  enjoying other books by this illustrator that, like this book are truly one of a kind.  If gorgeous illustrations are as important to you as the story itself, I suggest you check out other books illustrated by Wendell Minor.


Another thing I loved about this book was that at the back of the book was a biography of Thoreau (1817-1862) as well as some famous quotes and observations.  Here is one of that is probably one of his most famous, and happens to be a favorite of mine as well.

"If man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.  Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away."

Highly Recommended for children (5 or over)

Flight Behavior; Barbara Kingsolver



Title:  Flight Behavior
Author:  Barbara Kingsolver
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Harper
Edition: eGalley
Setting: Tennessee
Source: Edelweiss
Date Completed: November/2012
Rating: 4.5/5 
Recommend: yes

A few weeks ago I posted the opening paragraph of Barbara Kingsolver's recent release, Flight Behavior. Here it is again in case you missed the post:

"A certain feeling comes from throwing your good life away, and it is one part rapture.  Or so it seemed for now, to a woman with flame-colored hair who marched uphill to meet her demise.  Innocence was no part of this.  She knew her own recklessness and marveled, really, at how one hard little flint of thrill could outweigh the pillowy, suffocating aftermath of a long disgrace.  The shame and loss would infect her children too, that was the worst of it, in a town where everyone knew them.. Even the teenage cashiers at the grocery would take an edge with her after this, clicking painted fingernails on the counter while she wrote her check, eying the oatmeal and frozen peas of an unhinged family and exchanging looks with the bag boy: She's that one.  How they admired their own steadfast lives.  Right up to the day when hope in all its versions went out of stock, including the crummy discount brands, and the heart had just one instruction left: run.  Like a hunted animal, or a racehorse, winning or losing felt exactly alike at this stage, with the same coursing of blood and shortness of breath.  She smoked too much, that was another mortification to throw in with the others.  But she had cast her lot.  Plenty of people took this way out, looking future damage in the eye and naming it something else.  Now it was her turn.  She could claim the tightness in her chest and call it bliss, rather than the same breathlessness she could be feeling at home right now while toting a heavy laundry basket, behaving like a sensible mother of two."

Where does this intro lead? It sets the stage and propels the reader into an engaging story about science, climate change morals and Christian values.

Dellarobia (Dell) Turnbow, is a confused wife and mother. Pregnant and married at 17 to "Cub", son of "Bear"; her in-laws live too close for comfort. She adores her children, but wants more out of life than what their sheep farm in the middle of nowhere - Appalachia can give them.  Money is tight, Dell longs for knowledge and often dreams of taking "flight".  As a diversion from her humdrum life, she has a tryst planned with the telephone repairman.

On the day she climbs the mountainside on her way to commit adultery, something incredible happens when she gets to the top. All of treetops appear to be ablaze in a brilliant shade of orange. Since she does have her glasses with her for vanity purposes, she doesn't realize until later that it wasn't a fire at all, but a massive migration of Monarch butterflies, the same butterflies that normally migrate to Mexico not Tennessee.

The arrival of the butterflies and the science surrounding their migration are at the center of the story. Pitting scientists using climate change and global warming, against Christians who believe that a miracle has occurred.  In the process Dell's focus changes to working closely with the patient environmentalist who was sent to investigate what has occurred. She tries to convince others to see things her way, urging her in-laws to rethink their plans to sell logging rights to the mountain.

As with The Poisonwood Bible, a favorite of mine, Flight Behavior focuses on moral dilemmas, has finely drawn and yet colorful characters. The Environmentalist for example, although well educated, he has no clue what life is like for the people in Appalachia, and his conversations, especially with Dell are both serious and yet laughable. I liked this novel an a lot, especially the transformation or rather metamorphosis that occurs for Dell as she learns about climate change.  This was a great story, but perhaps a bit too long.

Saturday Snapshots



Saturday Snapshot

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.


My kids will not be happy I'm posting these , but here goes:

 (hair was never red - just looks it )

First Communions
(mid - 80's)

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanks to All and Happy Thanksgiving


Taking a moment to wish those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving a wonderful day with family and friends.

For those of you outside of the US, this post is for you as well.  I wanted to let each and every reader of my blog know how much I appreciate the fact that you take time out of your busy lives to read my blog. You've made the (4.5 years) since I started blogging worthwhile.  Some days it seems like I barely have 15 minutes for the computer outside of work.  Even though I don't have the time to comment as often lately, please know that I do stop by and visit as many of my favorite blogs as time allows each week.

This has been a big year for our family, and as I host our family dinner we'll give thanks for each other, for new homes, new baby, a marriage, a retirement, and continued good health for all.  I hope all of you have much to be thankful for as well.

Thank you All.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Joy for Beginners; Erica Bauermeister


Author:  Erica Bauermeister
Publication Year: 2011
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Edition: audio 
Reader: Cassandra Campbell (excellent)
Source: library
Date Completed:  November/2012
Rating: 4.5/5 
Recommend: yes
 
In this story of friendship and courage, Kate a breast cancer survivor in recovery announces at a party that she is going to challenge herself to do something that she always felt was too frightening or challenging previously -- for her it will be white water rafting  in the Grand Canyon with her daughter.  She challenges her (6) friends and supporters through out her health crisis to do the same, with the condition that she, Kate, gets to pick the challenge.
 
Each of the women has an issue they need to deal with. Marion is an empty-nester, Sara's life revolves around her children, Daria is a woman who has closed her heart to love, Ava, can't bear to deal with loss, Hadley, is a self-imposed home bound young widow, and Caroline, has an ex-husband whose books she hasn't been able to part with. Not all of the challenges Kate chooses are frightening or ones that most of us would see as tough, however, for these women they are significant and critical to help each move on with life.
 
The women range in ages, and their stories are diverse. I think some readers might even find something in the stories that resonates with them as well.  What makes the story work well is that each story is told by one of the women at a time.  The reason I was drawn to this book was because, I had listened to the author's first novel, The School of Essential Ingredients, and really enjoyed it. Like this book, it was narrated by, Cassandra Campbell who is a fantastic audio book narrator.
 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros


For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro to a book by an author that  I have enjoyed in the past. Has anyone read this one?


November 2, 2007
BLUE NOTEBOOK

" I have two diaries now. The first is the red hardback Daily Reminder of the kind I've been writing in since 1994, when we had Florian. You gave me the first book in order to record my beginning year as a mother. It was very sweet of you.  I have written in a book like it ever since.  They are hidden in the bottom drawer of my office covered with ribbons and wrapping paper.  The latest, the one that interests you at present, is kept in the very back of the file cabinet containing old bank statements, checks left over from defunct accounts, the things we vow to shred every year and end up stuffing into files.  After quite a lot of searching, I expect, you have found my red diary.  You have been reading it in order to discover whether I am deceiving you.

The second diary, what you might call my real diary, is the one I am writing in now."

Would you keep reading?

Other excellent books by this author include: The Plague of Doves, and her newest book, The Round House

Please feel free to grab the logo and join in by posting the first paragraph (or 2) of a book you are reading now or hoping to read soon.
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Sunday, November 18, 2012

Flight, starring Denzel Washington



Between work, planning for Thanksgiving, and other stuff, I haven't had much time to visit my favorite blogs or post much. I think that just happens this time of year to some of us.  We did manage to make time for a FANTASTIC movie yesterday though. Have you seen it?

Denzel Washington has always been a favorite actor of mine, and after seeing him in Flight, I definitely think his performance was "award worthy".  In a nutshell, Washington, stars as pilot Whip Whitaker who miraculously lands a malfunctioning plane, saving almost everyone on board. He's immediately seen as a hero, that is until his problems with alcohol and drugs soon surface.  He's in denial like many addicts, and his addiction could lead to prison time for him.

Actor, John Goodman plays he whacky drug supplier --some really hilarious scenes there.

Every minute of this movie was a thrill, but the "flight" scene made me grip my husband throughout and I felt thankful I didn't have to get on a plane this morning. There is a lot of nudity, swearing and also drug use which some parents with young children and preteens at the theater obviously had not been aware of, but it is a great movie.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Beautiful Ruins; Jess Walter

Title:  Beautiful Ruins
Author:  Jess Walter
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Harper Audio
Edition: audio 
Reader: Edoardo Ballenini (okay)
Source: library
Date Completed:  October/2012
Rating: 2.5/5 
Recommend: no

A crumbling hotel, the Hotel Adequate View, set atop a small Italian coastal town, provides a backdrop for the Beautiful Ruins. Lonely, hotel owner Pasquale Tursi, sees an opportunity to make his hotel a success by attracting wealthy Americans. The year is 1962 and when the lovely American starlet. Dee Moray arrives, Pasquale becomes instantly infatuated with her.  She in Porto Vergogna for the filming of the movie Cleopatra, but is later removed from the set because she is pregnant.

The story then jumps ahead some 50 years when Pasquale, who has never forgotten this American beauty goes to Los Angeles in search of the woman he's longed for all these years.  It is here that I really started to lose interest in this novel, and started skimming an awful lot. Fifty years is an awful lot to cover in a short novel and found there was way too much crammed in, from war to a  reality television and a whole lot in between.

The story just did not work well for me. Although the writing was good; I especially enjoyed the descriptiveness of the Italian coast and of Hollywood as well, the story just felt disjointed and hard to follow at times. At first I wondered if listening to the audio, read by Edoardo Ballerini, was the reason, but I don't think this book would have worked for me even had I read the print version.

Did anyone else find this novel less enjoyable than you originally anticipated?

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Live By Night; Dennis Lehane

Title:  Live By Night
Author:  Dennis Lehane
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Harper Audio / William Morrow
Edition: audio and eGalley
Reader: Jim Frangione (very good)
Source: publisher
Date Completed:  November/2012
Rating: 4.5/5 
Recommend: yes

When I began this book I wasn't aware that is was a sequel to the author's earlier book, The Given Day, which I own, but hadn't read.  Despite that, I found this story extremely easy to get hooked on, and I can honestly say this one would be fine to read or listen to as a stand-alone novel.

In this story Joe Coughlin is the youngest son of a corrupt, Irish police captain.  The story begins in 1926, it's the Prohibition era, and the Coughlin family is well off compared others in his neighborhood.  Joe's a smart kid, but that doesn't stop him from getting himself involved in risky business as a teen. He thinks getting away with things is fun, and enjoys the opportunity for some easy money even if the money comes dishonestly from the pockets of Boston mobsters.

Live By Night is a sprawling saga with so much going for it that it's sure to have plenty to please most readers.  There is corruption, murder, moral issues, issues of faith and there is even romance -- a woman named Emma, that Joe becomes obsessed with, who happens to be the girlfriend of a big time mobster.  The characters are well developed, and I loved that the story took place during the time of Prohibition. The author did a great job enlightening the reader to all the corrupt financial opportunities that existed at that time, all of which made for some exciting listening and reading. I am now looking forward to reading the prequel, The Given Day.  A long time Lehane fan, I've read at least 5 of his previous books and enjoyed them all.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros


For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro to a book by an author I want to read more of. Has anyone read this one?

Flannery O'Connor 
(originally published in 1948)

(Intro from - A Good Man is Hard to Find)
 
" THE GRANDMOTHER didn't want to go to Florida.  She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing at every chance to change Bailey's mind.  Bailey was the son she lived with, her only boy.  He was sitting on the edge of his chair at the table, bent over the orange sports section of the Journal. 'Now look here, Bailey,' she said, 'see here, read this,' and she stood with one hand on her thin hip and the other rattling the newspaper at his bald head.  'Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people.  Just you read it.  I wouldn't take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it.  I couldn't answer to my conscience if I did.' "

 What do you think of the into?  Any Flannery O'Connor fans out there?

Monday, November 12, 2012

Mailbox Monday - November 12th


This month's Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Kathy-Bermudaonion



Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Cure for Grief; Nellie Hermann

 
Author:  Nellie Hermann
Publication Year: 2008
Publisher: Scribner
Edition: hardcover
Setting: MA and ME
Source: personal collection
Date Completed: November/2012
Rating: 4/5 
Recommend: yes

I introduced this novel on my Tuesday "First Paragraph" segment a little over a week ago, and many of you thought by the intro something bad seemed likely to happen. Here it is again...

"Ruby Bronstein was nine years old the winter she found a gun.  It was a Tuesday in December; she and her family were on vacation in Maine.

That morning, after breakfast, Ruby stood by the window of the closed-in side porch, watching her brothers.  They were far out on the beach, moving across the expanse in front of the house and then stopping; a cluster of dark, stop-and-go bodies like raised, mobile moles on the pure flat of high tide."

What happens is not exactly what I suspected, but that paragraph certainly set the tone for the majority of what follows. 

Ruby is the youngest child of four, and the only girl.  She's smart, acts older than her years and adores her older brothers and wants to be a part of what they do, despite the teasing she often endures.  Her father is strict and quiet, and is a Holocaust survivor.  It isn't until Ruby is a young teen that she begins to understand what her father lived through as the family travels to Prague, and returns to the internment camp where the father was imprisoned.

Some families have more than their share of tragedy, and when one of Ruby's brother's is hospitalized and initially diagnosed with schizophrenia, the family's faith is tested. Ruby is taught early on to keep much of her home life private, but this incident with her brother will be the first of a series of tragedies that she must learn to cope with. Despite this she tries to act like a normal young teen, at least publicly -- she attends camp, experiences the first stirrings of love, but at times her anger at God comes out, when she thinks about just how much the family has been through.

So as I'm sure you've gathered, this is not an uplifting story, but it's well written, and as a reader, I found it engaging and it was easy to feel for Ruby and her family.  I was surprised to read that this was a debut novel and at least in part autobiographical.  The story is a real testament to the power to heal the heart, make peace with the past and go on with life. 

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Saturday Snapshot - November 10th - Grandcats



Saturday Snapshot

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.


My son and his wife adopted this (3) month old kitty last week. He is the new cat on the block joining, Psycho (below) one cute very senior cat (BELOW)


Psycho joined our family almost (20) years ago. He was only about 5 weeks old when he was found at near a dumpster. He has lived with my son for the last (16) years. Psycho's slowed down a bit, lost weight, and lost his hearing, but he still acts much younger than his age.  After a few days of hissing at the new addition, things are much better and the new (3) month old seems to be good company for the senior citizen while the humans are at work.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros


For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro to a new book that gets released today in the US. Has anyone read it yet?

Harper - Nov 6, 2012

"A certain feeling comes from throwing your good life away, and it is one part rapture.  Or so it seemed for now, to a woman with flame-colored hair who marched uphill to meet her demise.  Innocence was no part of this.  She knew her own recklessness and marveled, really, at how one hard little flint of thrill could outweigh the pillowy, suffocating aftermath of a long disgrace.  The shame and loss would infect her children too, that was the worst of it, in a town where everyone knew them.. Even the teenage cashiers at the grocery would take an edge with her after this, clicking painted fingernails on the counter while she wrote her check, eyeing the oatmeal and frozen peas of an unhinged family and exchanging looks with the bag boy: She's that one.  How they admired their own steadfast lives.  Right up to the day when hope in all its versions went out of stock, including the crummy discount brands, and the heart had just one instruction left: run.  Like a hunted animal, or a racehorse, winning or losing felt exactly alike at this stage, with the same coursing of blood and shortness of breath.  She smoked too much, that was another mortification to throw in with the others.  But she had cast her lot.  Plenty of people took this way out, looking future damage in the eye and naming it something else.  Now it was her turn.  She could claim the tightness in her chest and call it bliss, rather than the same breathlessness she could be feeling at home right now while toting a heavy laundry basket, behaving like a sensible mother of two."

[I love the intro, how about you?] 



Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Round House; Louise Erdrich

 
Title:  The Round House
Author:  Louise Erdrich
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Harper
Edition: eGalley
Setting: North Dakota
Source: Edelweiss
Date Completed: October/2012
Rating: 4.5/5 
Recommend: yes

Back on October 16th, I posted the opening paragraph of The Round House. Here it is again:
 
"Small trees had attacked my parents' house at the foundation.  They were just seedlings with one or two rigid, healthy leaves.  Nevertheless the stalky shoots had managed to squeeze through knife cracks in the decorative brown shingles covering the cement blocks.  They had grown into the unseen wall and it was difficult to pry them loose.  My father wiped his palm across his forehead and damned their toughness.  I was using a rusted old dandelion fork with a splintered handle; he wielded a long, slim iron fireplace poker that was probably doing more harm than good.  As my father prodded away blindly at the places where he sensed  roots might have penetrated, he was surely making convenient holes in the mortar for next year's seedlings."

 Several of you who commented thought the intro was symbolic of something to come -- and after finishing this terrific story, I can say many of you were correct. The intro was ominous indeed, and set the tone for much of the story that followed.

The Round House  takes the reader back to an Indian reservation in North Dakota in1988. Thirteen year-old Joe Coutts lives with his father, a tribal judge and his mother, a records clerk on the Ojibwe reservation, a job which required her to "know everyone's business".  One Sunday afternoon as Joe and his father were pulling weeds from the garden the mother mother, Geraldine heads out to her office to retrieve a high profile file.  When she doesn't return by the time dinner time approaches, father and son become concerned and prepare to go look for her.  They find her stunned, beaten and bleeding and smelling of gasoline, yet sitting in her car in the driveway of their home.

Who attacked her, and why isn't Geraldine willing to talk about her attack?  Why are things so secretive and why isn't Joe told something about the attack at least?  Of course bit by bit information about the attack, where it happened or who might be responsible is slowly shared behind the scenes, but from the perspective of Joe, the thirteen year old narrator, all he sees is his once happy and active mother holed up in her room, spiraling into a deep depression and afraid to even leave her room. "Her eyes were black pits...." Joe feels helpless and is not sure what he can to to make his mother feel safe again.  Joe has an idea and enlists the help of his buddies, Cappy, Zack and Angus in trying to find out who attacked his mother and plotting what they feel would be appropriate revenge.

Although the theme of this novel is a dark one and one might think it would make for a depressing read, that is not the case.  There is so much to hold the readers interest in this story. From the element of mystery with the attack, the adolescent antics of Joe and his friends as they try to find out about the attacker, and the Indian folklore of ghost and ancient myths shared by the elders made this a page turner. The pacing and the way the author took the edge off what could have been too much tension and a depressing story, ended up anything but, in my opinion.  Although I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, I was more than satisfied by this novel, and plan to continue reading more by this author.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Peaches for Father Francis; Joanne Harris

 
Author:  Joanne Harris
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Viking
Edition: eGalley
Setting: France
Source: NetGalley
Date Completed: October/2012
Rating: 4/5 
Recommend: yes

Peaches for Father Francis reintroduces readers and movie goers to Vianne Roche the lovable, magical former candy shop owner who charmed so many in Chocolat over 10 years ago.

In this story Vianne is living with Roux and her daughters 15 year old, Anouk,  and Rosette, now 8 years old on a houseboat. She misses her candy shop and yearns for something more.  When a lost letter arrives from the grandson of her friend Armande who has since passed away asking for Vianne's help, she and her girls leave for Lansquenet.  Her former shop had been turned into a school by a group of newcomers to the hamlet who happen to be of Arab descent. These people are not welcomed and are viewed as outsiders. They are treated in much the same way that Vianne had been when she had arrived there years earlier.  When something happens to the school of the Muslim people, rumors have it that Vianne's arch enemy Father Francis may have been involved. Can Vianne help her former nemesis?

This was a story that was fun to read, even though the theme of "tolerance" is a serious subject.  The way the newcomers to this small community were treated seemed to accurately reflect the way many people, often perceived as different, are treated throughout the world. 

There were a lot of flashbacks to the earlier novel which were well written into this novel, as a result the story flowed very well.  I loved the author's depiction of life in a small insular community, and there was even another element of mystery involving Vianne's partner Roux.  Overall the quirky characters, tension among the residents, charm and magic made for and entertaining story.  Although this book was actually book #3 of the series, The Girl With No Shadow was book #2, I didn't feel like I missed anything by not having read that book.

Thanks to the folks at Penguin/Viking for allowing me to read/review this novel.